Metro Manila, Philippines (PressExposure) February 26, 2010 -- The Philippines, the country with Asia's largest Catholic population, moved closer to a possible historic first Church-approved apparition of the Virgin Mary.

The apparition in question refers to the alleged apparitions of the Virgin Mary to a young Carmelite postulant, Teresita Castillo. The alleged apparitions happened in the Carmelite convent grounds in Lipa, Batangas, Philippines way back in 1948. Thousands and thousands of miraculous rose petals reportedly materialized out of thin air in the convent grounds at the time of the reported apparitions. Thousands of witnesses have claimed seeing the rose petals, with many reporting miraculous cures due to the petals - similar to miraculous cures attributed to the water of Lourdes. The Virgin Mary referred to herself as the "Mediatrix of All Grace" in the apparitions.

The Virgin Mary has traditionally been referred to by numerous saints and popes as the "Mediatrix of All Grace"‚ referring to her role as mediator between God and man, and dispenser of God's graces. The title is of particular importance in current times, as there is currently a major international movement to petition the pope to officially declare a fifth Marian Dogma - that of Mary as Co-redemptrix, Mediatrix and Advocate.

The Lipa apparitions became the center of national attention, with thousands of Filipinos visiting Lipa hoping to catch one of the miraculous petals.

The euphoria, however, did not last long. A few years after the initial reports of the apparitions, the Church came out with an official verdict: the apparitions were declared to be not supernatural in nature. In Church-speak, this was basically a negative ruling, a condemnation of the apparitions. The statue of Mary Mediatrix of All Grace was ordered to be kept; public veneration of the image was prohibited.

What followed were long years of silent agony, disappointment and suppressed fervor. The devotion to Mary Mediatrix, however, did not fade with the years. In 1991, 40 years after the initial negative ruling on the apparitions, then Lipa Archbishop Mariano Gaviola issued a decree, finally allowing the image to be taken out and exposed to the public in the Carmelite chapel in Lipa. After 40 years, the Mediatrix of All Grace was finally out in the open again. Since then, thousands of pilgrims have continuously visited the statue. Eventually, September 12, the date of the first apparition, was declared a National Day of Prayer, Reparation and Consecration.

The appointment of Archbishop Ramon Arguelles, D.D., a well-known Marian advocate and devotee, as bishop of Lipa was a major development in the unfolding story of the Lipa apparitions. The Archbishop has privately admitted that he grew up as a devotee of Mary Mediatrix of All Grace, and that in his childhood, he often went to the chapel of the apparition site to pray. His official role as Archbishop of Lipa, however, obviously necessitates an objective and thorough investigation and evaluation of the authenticity of the apparitions, separate from his own personal beliefs and devotion on the matter.

On November 12, 2009, Archbishop Arguelles finally broke his official silence on Lipa by issuing a major decree related to the apparitions. In this decree concerning the Lipa apparitions of the Virgin Mary, the Archbishop reinforced former Lipa Archbishop Mariano Gaviola's 1991 ruling that lifted the ban on the public veneration of the Lipa image in the Carmelite chapel. He ordered that "all bans written or unwritten to curtail or diminish the devotion to Mary Mediatrix of All Grace be lifted."

Likewise, the Archbishop ordered the formation of a theological commission that will conduct a thorough study and investigation of all documents and evidence related to the apparitions. The formation of the theological commission is an important step, inasmuch as a possible ruling of the Archbishop on the apparitions will rely on the results of the research conducted by the commission. Catholic Church rules give the local bishop (in whose diocese the alleged apparitions take place) the sole authority to declare the authenticity of the apparitions in question.

In an interview that first appeared in Totus Tuus, Maria, a Catholic website on the Virgin Mary, the Archbishop said:

I believe the Mediatrix phenomenon is the greatest thing that ever happened to the Church of Lipa in the last one hundred years and even from time immemorial. The lifting of the ban is intended to dispel any doubts that in 1991 Archbishop Mariano Gaviola already did so. The late Archbishop and I are deeply concerned about the faithful's great devotion to our Holy Mother. It must be encouraged and promoted, especially since it is Lipa's great privilege to be known as the place where the Mediatrix of All Grace, the possible fifth Marian dogma, has most prominently been declared by "sensus fidelium".

In the same interview, when asked why he issued a new decree regarding the Lipa apparitions, the Archbishop responded:

The faithful have the right to know whether the Lipa phenomenon was authentic or not. The attachment to Mary must be promoted in these times of trial for our country and the world.

The fact remains, though, that the apparition in question was originally declared by a 1951 Church ruling to be not "supernatural in origin". Is it possible for the Catholic Church to "change its mind" with regard to the Lipa apparitions, and essentially reverse a previous negative ruling? The Archbishop thinks this is possible:

The Church reconsidered the Galileo pronouncements. The Lipa case is so insignificant compared to that of Galileo... The Lipa "revocation" will immensely benefit the multitude of true believers worldwide.

Many Filipino Catholics spend a fortune to visit Our Lady's famous pilgrimage and apparition sites all over the world, such as Fatima and Lourdes. Will the time finally come when Filipinos no longer need to travel halfway across the world to visit a revered pilgrimage site where Our Lady has appeared? While the theological commission investigates, and the Archbishop reflects, Filipinos can only hope and pray that soon, Lipa will rise and become the Philippines' own treasured pilgrimage site - a place touched by God and visited by the Queen of Heaven.

About Totus Tuus Maria Foundation, Inc.

Totus Tuus, Maria Foundation, Inc. is a non-profit Catholic multimedia publishing organization based in the Philippines. It owns and manages numerous Catholic publishing properties, such as Totus Tuus, Maria, a Catholic website on the Virgin Mary.

Press Release Source: http://PressExposure.com/PR/Totus_Tuus_Maria_Foundation,_Inc..html